Yes folks, it’s silly season, the months before a new iPhone when case leaks and device peaks dominate the blogs as everyone and their blurry cam tries to get a shot of what’s next from Apple — like a picture on a train of something in something that could be something… or nothing.

Here’s what Seth Weintraub of 9to5Mac had to say:

"Almost EVO-like" in screen size, this iPhone also appears thinner than the current iPhone 4 but also wider. The edges are rounded metal like the edges of a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 but could still function as an antenna. The back is a curved/tapered glass or plastic. He couldn't tell but if he had to guess he'd say glass. He said it looked too amazing to be built by anyone besides Apple (fanboy!).

Sure, it’s like Christmas carols in August, too much and too soon, but it’s only going to keep coming. So with all that preamble, check out the photo above let us know what you see, a new iPhone 5 with a larger screen and bigger, more rounded edges, a regular old iPhone in a case, an Android device, Elvis, Sasquatch, you know, whatever.

[9to5Mac]

Armor Games have updated their iPhone and iPad game, Siege Hero.

Tap the screen to fire. Find the weak spots. Loot the treasures. Save the innocent villagers.

Tear down the 150 castles across two Ages. If you’re good enough to earn Gold on each castle you’ll unlock the extra looting levels in the Treasure Map. Over 5-hours of gameplay with much more to come.

The update includes:

• Age of Discovery now available. Use your Siege skills to free the oppressed and become the Hero once again.
• 75 new levels
• 6 new characters
• 7 new achievements
• New Weapons
• Many hours of challenging gameplay

I’ve played some of the first few levels of Siege Hero and I’ll definitely be playing some more. It reminds me a little of Angry Birds, but instead of catapulting birds in the 3rd person, I’m throwing weapons in the first person. It’s fun!

Siege Hero is available for $0.99 on the iPhone and $3.99 on the iPad. Screenshots after the break.

[iPhone iTunes link] [iPad iTunes link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

The US Patent and Trademark office just published fourteen new patents recently awarded to Apple. Among them are design patents for the MacBook Air, iPhone 3G, Apple remote, their battery charger design, and many more.

Considering Apple recently sued Samsung for copying the iPhone and iOS look and feel, these patents could end up with many other manufacturers in court. Lots of notebooks have recently mimicked the design of the MacBook Air or other variations of the MacBook line. None of the patents seem too design specific. If Apple has the ability to sue based on the overall appearance and design, I definitely think we’ll see more lawsuits springing up sooner rather than later.

Patently Apple

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• Astroslugs Deluxe for iPad (Sale): A colorful and soothing puzzle board game for your iPad. The game is set in a long forgotten age “when the universe still looked like an old parchment”. Free for today! [Free for iPad - iTunes link]

• Agent 351: Logic Bomb: Your name is Agent 351. Your mission? Stop the notorious bank robber and expert bomb maker Jacques Le Petite from pulling off the greatest heist in history! [$0.99 for iPhone - iTunes link]

• play2win: Play games to win real rewards – coffee at your favorite Café, dinner at a restaurant, massage at a local spa, discounts from national retailers – you name it! [Free for iPhone - iTunes link]

• Warblade HD: A shoot’em up type of game like the old classic arcade game Galaga. [$2.99 for iPad - iTunes link]

• Dollar Origami 3D: The easiest way to learn Dollar Bill Origami. [Free for iPhone - iTunes link]

Any other big app or game releases or updates today?

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

We’ve been hearing about the iPhone nano, aka the budget iPhone, for a while now and Vietnamese set Tinhte might finally have scored a prototype.

3 pictures below are photographs handset is said to be the next version of iPhone 4 from a very reliable source. Really hard to convince you to believe this because it is exactly like the iPhone 4 white appearance. Some other information that you want to transfer to you is that this machine seems to run faster than the iPhone 4, lighter weight and two glass front and back seem to have been replaced by two plastic sheets, type of sensation and cry other than the iPhone 4. According to information leakage, predictable from the English website, the more likely Apple will introduce the iPhone 4s (cheap version) and the iPhone 5 next month. And it looks like the iPhone that you see below is the iPhone 4s.

That Apple was working on a cheaper iPhone for new entrants and emerging markets has always been assumed — because it makes sense — but how exactly they’d go about doing it was and is the big question. Just like the MacBook Air and iPad are to the netbook, Apple has a way of filling holes in the product line-up in unpredictable but often high effective ways.

Instead of making an iPhone physically smaller, or using iPhone 3GS parts, if these pictures prove to be genuine, and this prototype hasn’t already been abandoned, the idea of plastic instead of glass and possibly other lower-end components could very easily make for a cheaper iPhone that’s still binary compatible with the existing App Store apps and perhaps even current accessories (and Jailbreaks?).

But then would iPhone 5 have to look different so fashionistas don’t worry about it being mistaken for the cheap phone?

[Tinhte via MacRumors]

The BBC iPlayer (Global) iPad app is now available outside of the UK for the first time with the launch in eleven countries. The iPad app is now available in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Still no love for the United States, Canada or Australia; but the BBC does say that it will be available there too, later this year.

The iPlayer app will offer a limited amount of ad supported content for free but the majority or programs will be offered via a subscription model. The monthly cost would be €6.99 ($10) or a yearly fee of €49.99 ($72).

Watch a selection of the best classic and contemporary British shows on demand, including Doctor Who, Top Gear and Blue Planet. Download the app and explore plus enjoy free clips and taster episodes. Subscribe today for unlimited access – even when you’re offline.

Features:

• Watch high quality video and audio streaming over Wi-Fi or 3G
• Download programmes to watch even when you're not connected
• Enjoy exclusive programmes that have never before been seen outside of the UK
• Browse classic and contemporary programmes by Genre, Most popular, Just in and A-Z
• Set parental locks on content not suitable for kids

The international app differs from the app which is available in the UK. It is being touted as an on-demand service rather than a catch-up service and will carry content from the previous month as well as a back catalogue of programs stretching back up to 60 years. It will also allow downloading of content directly to the iPad as well as access over 3G. This is something that the current UK app has been missing and heavily criticized for not having! Apparently the two apps have been developed by different departments within the BBC.

[Free – iTunes link]

 

According to a report by China Times, the iPhone 5 will be released in the second week of September with 4 million units set to hit the streets at launch. The same source also claims that the iPad 3 has been delayed until after Thanksgiving due to component shortages.

This release date for the iPhone 5 does seem like a popular choice with many rumors now pointing to a September launch. This would also coincide with the fall release of iOS 5; although the official start of fall this year is September 23. We also know that Apple is recruiting temporary sales staff throughout the UK, starting in mid August. This would allow them to be trained to Apple's exacting standards, prior to the iPhone 5 launch.

The delay to the iPad 3 is a little more mystifying, not quite sure how an unannounced product that is rumored to be released outside of its normal product refresh cycle can be delayed!

The China Times has a hit and miss record with Apple rumors so take this one with the usual pinch of salt. It does however have close links with Apple's supply chain in China.

[China Times via MacRumors]

 

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Geoff and Rene answer questions on the keyboard/crackberry claw then discuss footwear from regular shoes to high heels to Nike Free to Vibram to barefoot, and which let your feet work best. This is Superfunctional!

If you’re walking and texting, jogging and listening to iPhone or iPad, or flat out running to get back to your iPad, this is the podcast for you. Help say goodbye to pain and hello to geeky five-toe shoes and more.

• Details and show notes

Experiencing more than your fair share of Wi-Fi #fail on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and curious how to work around it? There are a lot of things which can cause Wi-Fi interference. Luckily, there are , here are some of them, and what you can do to fix them.

Here are some ways to reduce or eliminate Wi-Fi interference for your iOS devices.

1. Reset/reboot your router and your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Start with a clean slate.
2. Reposition your route in case a particularly dense object like a wall, elevator shaft, etc. is getting in the way of the signal.
3. Change your Wi-Fi router channel. Sometimes a microwave can interfere, sometimes other devices. Try the low end, high end, and middle until you find what works best.
4. For iPad 2, try switching to the 5 GHz band. There’s much less interference on that frequency.

Identifying the causes of interference can help as well, if you notice something always happens when you lose signal — your microwave is on, your neighbour is using their garage door opener, the elevator reaches your floor, you’re streaming over Bluetooth, anything that establishes a pattern — it can help you figure out the right fix.

NOTE: Some iPad and iPad 2 users have reported problems with Wi-Fi in general. If you think it’s not just interference but a hardware issue, take your device to the Apple Store and let the Geniuses look at, and potentially replace it.

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We’re getting a ton of emails about apps showing up in the App Store that say they’re compatible with iOS 5, and readers/listeners wondering how that could be since iOS 5 isn’t public yet. Here’s the thing — developers are not currently allowed to upload anything to iTunes Connect (the App Store backend) that uses the iOS 5 SDK and iOS 5 APIs. However, they may be able to make changes within the iOS 4.x SDK, using iOS 4.x API, that also just so happen to fix compatibility issues with iOS 5. In other words, they might be able to code around problems in iOS 5 for existing apps, but they can’t code new iOS 5-specific functionality.

There will likely be cases where devs can’t fix something using the iOS 4.x SDK as well, regardless of how clever they are. So we’ll once again remind you, if you’re using iOS 5 and a specific app doesn’t work right, not to leave a bad review. iOS 5 is only available to developers testing apps, not to users complaining about them. Wait until after iOS 5 is released to the public this fall before you start getting on anyone’s case.